Knowing Tom Paulin, probably serious. I used to watch that programme and what a bunch of self-important twa . . . twits they were. I love the fact that Terry included it as a sort of nose-thumb to Paulin.

Appraising one of Pratchett’s novels,Tom Paulin commented on the richness of the vocabulary, saying any novel that used interesting words like ‘drumlin’ could not be all that bad, but after examining it closely he was overwhelmed. “It’s like picking up a stone,” he said, “and seeing millions of insects crawling in all directions – all you can do is put it back and leave them to it.”

This is the type of put-down one might expect from an admirer of William Hazlitt. Paulin requires slowness, focus, density, tonal variation, a layered seriousness of presentation while Pratchett seems to be constantly reiterating, “Isn’t this a topsy-turvy rollicking nuthouse of a universe!”

Earnings from Pratchett's books are now enormous but they were not initially spectacular. “With my first novel,” he recalled, “I was given an advance that enabled me to buy a medium-sized greenhouse. The next year my second book came out, and with that I was able to buy another medium-sized greenhouse. By the time my third book was published, I wondered whether I might not ask the publisher to send me a greenhouse direct and not bother about the advance.”

Great article.

Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.

That erse Paulin probably is too thick to understand the humour, reminds me of another self gradising arsehole on the beeb Melvyn Bragg when he interviewed Iain Banks and Iain tore him to bits when brag came out with his usual crap, it was fun to watch the tables being turned on him.

He willnae tak' a drink! I think he's deid! , on the other hand though A Midgie in yir hand is worth twa up yir kilt.

I recently finished reading the entire series of The Sandman. Gaiman's an excellent writer. I had to admit, Good Omens wasn't one of my favourite works of his (or Pratchett's), but that's the exception rather than the rule. I mean, you have American Gods, you have The Sandman (The Kindly Ones being the best of the actual volumes), you have The Graveyard Book, not to mention Doctor Who: The Doctor's Wife.